Sound recording and reproducing machine



R. s; ARTHUR.

SOUND RECORDING AND HEPRODUCING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0CT.29. |917.

1,357,936 PatenaNov. 9,1920.

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ALPPYLICZATION FILED DDT-29, 1917. Patented Nov. 1920.

9, s SHEETS-SHEET 2t llnnn vH. s. ARTHUR. souND RECORDING ANDRsP'RonucmG MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT-29, |917.. l l 1,35%936,Patented Nov. 9,1920.

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UNITED STATES .RICHARD s. ARTHUR, onnnwfronx, N. Y,

scum) nEcoRDrNe Arm warrior/nome. MACHINE.

Application filed October 29,-191'71? SeriaTNo. 4v199,217. y'.

To all whomy t may concer/n Be it known that I, RICHARDl S. Ammin,

, -a citizen of the United States of America,

and a resident of- New York city, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented new and useful` Improvements in Sound Recordingand Reproducing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

. The objects of this invention are to secure improvedv motor oractuating means for a talking machine or the like, to enable the same tooccupy little space, and `be wound at a convenient point; to secure animproved governor by which the movement issimply and eflicientlyregulated, and which governor can be easily adjusted; to secure animproved .sound box and means for resiliently engaging its stylus withthe record; to provide improved means for stopping and starting the`motor and for returning the stylus of the sound box to initialposition; to enable records to always properly fit the record carrier orjsuppor't, and to-obtain other advantages and results las ``may bebrought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals ofreference indicate the same parts Vthroughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a plan of a machine embodying my invention; l Fig. 2 is aside elevation with parts broken away for greater clearness; f Fig. 3 isa view similar to Fig. 1 with the horn removed and other parts brokenaway;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 1 -4 of Fig. 3; Y

, Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a plan of the governor;

Fig. 7 is an underneath plan of the sound box, and

Fig'. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. 2 showing modified meansfor frictionally mounting the record upon the record carrier.

In the specic embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings,the reference numeral 1 indicatesa suitable base plate or support uponwhich is mounted a sound box 2 near one end and a governor 3 near theother end. The sound box has a vibrat ing lever lwhich projects towardthe governor and upon which is mounted a stylus 5 near the outer endofsaidA lever. Above the stylus is a. rotatable record carrier 6actuatedfby armotorthe, spring 7 of which extends along 1one side of thebase vplate and curvesffaround thel sound box 2 across the endoffthebase platewith suitable winding means,r at: thefopposlte side thereof.Means orstartingposition. i 3

Preferably the end portion 8 yof thebase `plateup'onwhich the. governoris `mounted -ls bentaupward atan anglel to the plane of thevfrestgofsaidplate upon which thesound box .isl mounted. A post or bracket 9projectsyupward from said plate, preferablyV longitudinally `of the endedge t o the opposite :side edge of the plate where itis sup-` portedbyVa boss 12 projecting from the plate.` lAt this last-mentioned end ofthespringf'mandrel, the same is preferably made with a :rotatable stud 13(see Fig. 5,), said stud havingone end inserted in the stationary partof the mandrel, the end of which is socketed for the purpose, and havingits othernend extending through the boss 12. Displacement of the studfrom the stationary Apart of the mandrel is prevented by a transversepin 13L in the stationary part of the `mandrel which takes intoa'peripheral alsoioperable fromlthissame side of thefbaselplatee'gvaes-said winding means 1are provided for removing the stylusfrom the record and for :returning thewsoundr .box 'to its originalgr0ove13b in the stud nearitsinner end. l

A handle'or crank 14 is provided for the outer end of the stud, wherebyit may be rotated with respect to said boss and stationary part of themandrel. Any suitable ratchet means may be employed to permit rotationof the stud in one direction and prevent its rotation in the otherdirection, and this means I have shown as a helical spring 15 whichfitsclose upon said stud so as to grip it and .has one end made fast to theboss 12 of the base. Rotation of the stud to wind up the motor tends tounwindl the ratchet spring 15 and consequently the stud may rotate, butattemptedL rotation of the stud in the other direc t. :euses the spring15 to wind up and grip the stud thus holdioo l ing it secure. 'Betweenthe stationary part of the mandrel and the boss 12, I preferably providea hole 16 transverse of the stud into which one end of the motor spring7 is inserted so that rotation'of the stud will wind up said spring.Said motor spring 7 is coiled around the mandrel to the other endthereof adjacent the post 9 and there engages a worm wheel 17 rotatablymounted upon the mandrel. By winding up the motor spring at one end bythe crank 14 it will tend to unwind at its other end and thus rotate theworm wheel 17 In mesh with, and, as shown, above the worm wheel 17, is aworm 18 preferably on one end of a shaft 19 which carries at its otherend the record carrier 6. I have shown the shaft 19 and worm 18 integraland supported in bearings 20 21 on the upper end of the bracket 9 (seeIig. 8), although any other equivalent structure might be employed.While the record carrier 6 may be driven from its shaft 19 in anysuitable manner, I preferably make the record carrier rotatably looseupon the shaft and provide a spring 22 which has one end made fast tothe shaft and the other end fast tothe record carrier, this resilientdrive being more particularly shown and described in my co- ]endingapplication Serial No. 195,023 filed ctober 6, 1917. i

The governor 3 preferablyemployed is'at v the slopingend 8 of the baseplate and is driven from the shaft 19 upon which the reC.-`

are pivoted weighted arms 29, 29 adapted to4 be thrown outward bycentrifugal action in braking, and these arms rotate within acylindrical housing 30 upon the base plate,

the inner wall of which. housing preferably slopes inwardly downwardtoward the base late for`- purposes hereinafter described. he weightedarms`29,.29 are pivoted, as

. at 31, 31 upon the disk 28, see Fig. 6, preferably ldiametricallyopposite each other and have at thelr outer sides brake shoes 32, 32

l adapted to engage said cylindrical surface of the inner wall of thehousingl when the arms l29,A .29' are swung downward. For holding thegovernor arms 29, 29 normally inward, I have shown a spring 33 securedatits opposite ends to said armsl and passing through a transverse hole inthe said governor shaft 23, although any other equivalent means could beemploye As stated above, the inner. wall of the housing 30 slopes ortapers toward the end of the governor shaft which has its bearing in thebase plate, and therefore shifting the governor shaft longitudinally, sothat vthe arms 29, 29 will have a greater or less distance to be thrownoutward into engagement with said wall, will adjust the governor andthus the .speed of the machine. In order to accomplish this, a spring isemployed to slide the governor shaft longitudinally in one direction andan adjusting screw is provided to force it in the other direction Thesound box 2 preferably used in conl nection with my improved machine ispivv oted to oscillate so the sltylus can follow the groove in therecord and is also pivoted so the stylus may be swung into engagementwith the record and swung away from the record aswill next be described.The body portion 36 of the sound box is annular, with a projecting neck37 to fit loosely in the lower end of an amplifier or horn 38, andcontains a diaphragm 39 between holding rings as usual. Support for thesound box is obtained by a yoke 40 which extends dia-v metrically of thebody portion on the opposite side thereof from said neck-"38 and hasears 41, 41 at its opposite ends to which the body portion 36 lis ivotedby its peripheral edges as at 42. t the middle of the yoke 40 isa pivotpin 43 which projects into a suitable-socket 44 in thebase plate 1, and

b virtue of` this pin the sound box ma, os-

in of the yoke 40 to said body portion, is a fu crum 45 the knife edgeof which is toward the base plate 1. Seated upon this fulcrumis a lever4, whichis secured at one end to the diaphragm and projects at its otherend beyond the body portion of the sound 4box beneath the record'carrier so that the stylus 5v carried on said end may engage therecord. In order to hold the lever 4 against i its.fulcrumV 45, I haveshown Screws 46,46 at opposite sides'jof said lever, which enter thebody portion of the sound box with their body vportion 36 of the headsor washers thereat underlying marginal portions of the lever. It islthrough this lever 4 that vibrations are transmitted between the stylusand `diaphragm of the sound box.

Preferably the sound box is resiliently tilted to normally engage thestylus with the record, and for this purpose a leaf spring 48 is shownsecured" at one end to the yoke 40 for convenience by the pivot pin 48,the other end of this leaf spring extending to the edge of the sound boxopposite the fulcrum for the lever 4. As shown the leaf spring projectsinto a staple 49 or the like at the under side of the body portion ofthe sound y box, the normal tendency of the spring being to pull downupon said staple and thereby tilt the sound box upon its yoke 40 topress the stylus 5 upward toward the record.

For tilting the sound box against the force of the spring 48 todisengage the stylus from the record, a rotatable rod'50 is mounted atits ends in suitable bearings 5l, 51 on the base plate and extendsacross the sound box above the same and between its neck -37 and thestylus, having a suitable knob 52 at one end by means of which said rodmay be turned. A spring 53 between said knob and the adjacent bearing 51provides sufficient friction to hold the rod in whatever position it isturned to. Upon this rod 50, over the body portion of the sound box, isa cam 54 adapted to engage the said body portion and swing it downwardwhen the rod is turned in one direction, and thus the stylus can bereleased from the record when desired. Means are also provided forswinging the sound box back to its ,original or starting position bymeans of this rod 50, and this means I have shown as a sloping camsurface 55 upon the top of the body portion of the sound box adjacentsaid rod adapted to be engaged by a pin or finger 56 on said rod whenthe rod is turned to release the stylus from the record and wedginglyforce the sound box' through the desired arc. It may be noted, however,that the cam 54 operates somewhat in advance of f the finger 56 so as todisengage the stylus fromvthe record before the linger engages the camsurface 55 to force thestylus back to starting position. Also on saidrod 50jis a brake arm 57 at one end of the record carrier adapted toengage the same and stop itl when the rod is turned for releasing thestylus from the record.

Turning the rod 50 in one direction therefore stops the machine by meansof the brake arm 57, removes the stylus from the record and returns ittoinitial position, while turning said rod in the other direction startsthe machine by releasing the brake from the record carrier and the cam54 and finger 56 from the top of the sound box so that the nsame istilted-by its spring 48 to pressthe stylus against the record.

Initial position of the stylus with respect and adapted to engage aperipheral projec-- tion 59 of the sound box which preferably carriesthe staple 49'. This stop also serves to limit swinging of the sound boxin 'the other direction by engagement with the adjacent end of the yoke40.

In the machine of the cylinder type, such as I have illustrated, Ipreferably employ records without backing or reinforcing, and thereforeit becomes necessary to provide some means for compensating for theirshrinkage or expansion` due to atmospheric conditions in making themalways fit properlyupon the record carrier. In Figs. 3 and 4 I haveshown for this purpose a layer 6() of felt or the like upon the recordcarrier 6, the resiliency of such a layer compensating for any slightdifferences in the yrecord 6l.

In Fig. 8 I have shown springs 62 upon the other surface of the recordcarrier for the same purposes, said springs extending longitudinally andthree or more being employed suitably distributed around the periphery.I have shown these springs held in place by screws 63 at 'the end of therecord carrier, although obviously they might be otherwise secured..

Obviously detail modifications and changes may be made in manufacturingmy improved machine without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself exceptas required by the following claims when construed in the light of theprior art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is,

i l.. The combination with a support, of

a substantially U-shaped yoke pivotally mounted thereon, a sound boxpivoted between the arms of said yoke to tilt upon a' one end of -saidspring being fixed and the other in sliding engagement.

2. rI`he combination with a sound box mounted to rotate in its plane andto tilt upon a substantially diametric axis, of means for simultaneouslyrotating and tilting said sound box.

3. The combination with a yoke, a sound box body pivoted in said yoke, alever fulcrumed on the edge of said body at substantially right anglesto its line of pivoting, said lever secured to the diaphragm at one 4, lLames@ ranged transverse to radial lines thereof,

and means for engaging said cam surface to turn the sound box.

5. The combination with a sound bo i pivotally mounted to rotate in itsplane, of a sloping cam surface onysaid sound box arranged transverse to`radial lines thereof, a finger engaging said cam surface toturn thesound box, and meansfor swinging said inger. l i

6. The combination with a sound box pivotally mounted to rotate in itsplane,'of

a sloping cam surface on the Atop of said sound box arranged transverseto radial lines thereof, a rotatable rod above the sound box adjacentsaid cam surfaces, and

means on said rod for engaging said cam surface to turn the sound box.

7 The combination with a sound box mounted to rotate in its plane and totilt upon a substantially diametric axis, and a` cam surface to turn thesound box, and

means for operating said members simultaneously.

8. The combination with a sound box mounted to rotate in its plane andto tilt upon a substantially diametric axis, and a spring normallytilting said sound box, of a sloping cam surface on the top of saidsound box arranged transverse to radial lines thereof, a rotatable rodabove said sound box, and members on said rod for. engaging the soundboxto tilt the same and engaging its said cam surface to turn the soundbox.

9. The combination with a sound box mounted to rotate in its plane andto tilt upon a substantially diametric axis, and a springnormally'tilting said sound box, of a sloping cam surface on `the top ofsaid sound box arranged transverse to radial lines thereof, a rotatablerod above said sound box, a cam on said rod for engaging the sound boxto tilt the same, and a nger on said rod adapted to engage said camsurface to turn the sound box.

l0. The combination with a sound box mounted torotate in its plane andto tilt upon a substantially diametric axis, and a spring normallytilting said sound box, of a sloping cam surface on the top of saidsound box arranged transverse to radial lines thereof, a rotatable rodabove said sound box, and meansfor-operating said member to tilt thesound box suiiciently in advance of turning it to disengage the stylusfrom the record.' 'Y

11. The combination with a record carrier, a motor for driving saidrecord carrier,

a tilting sound box, and a spring normally tilting said sound box, of arotatable rod, a cam on said`rod adapted to engage said sound box totilt it against the power of said spring, and a 'brakeon said rod forstopping the motor.

12. The combination with a record carrier, a motor for driving saidrecord carrier, and a sound box pivotally mounted to rotate in itsplane, of a sloping cam surface 1 on the top of said sound box arrangedtransverse to radial lines thereof, a rotatable rod above the sound boxadjacent. said 'cam surface, a finger on said rod for engaging saidcamsurface to turn the sound box, and-a lbrake on said rod for stoppingthe motor.

13. The combination with a record carrier, a motor for driving saidrecord carrier,

a sound box mounted to rotate in its plane and to tilt upon asubstantially diametrio axis, and a spring normally tilting said soundbox, of a sloping cam surface on the top of said sound box arrangedtransverse to radial lines thereof, a rotatable rod above said soundbox, means for operating said member to tilt the sound box sufficientlyin advance of turning it tol disengage the stylus from the record,` anda brake on said rod for stopping the motor. 4

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

RICHARD S. ARTHUR. Witnesses:

HOWARD P. KING, MILDRED E. BROOKS.

